Pending Remembrance
by Lust demon
Summary: AU for falling out of current continuity. Grimmjow is alive but badly hurt, a bad case of amnesia has made him forget Ichigo as well as the reason he's alive at all. As if that wasn't bad enough, Ichigo's having issues with new kinds of hollows.


Icy blue eyes opened slowly, staring at the plain white ceiling. One large long fingered hand splayed on the sheets, pushing weakly so the man could sit up and get a better look around. His movements were halted by two things: his muscles protesting to the point that he had to lay down again or be sick; and a long sword being held to his throat. Supine and unexpectedly spent, the man let out a quiet groan. He turned his head just enough to see who was holding him at sword point and saw an orange haired teen with a huge scowl. Well, if he was being threatened with a weapon then he really couldn't expect the person to be happy. However, the question remained...

"How did you get a gigai, and how did you get here?" The young man growled at him.

Narrowing his impossibly blue eyes, the man ran a hand through his hair. His voice was scratchy from lack of use. "Who the hell are you?"

The orange haired teen seemed to freeze up at this question and then he was leaning over the man, gripping his shirt by the neck and twisting so it nearly cut off the others' air. Raising up a weak hand, he tried to pry the stranger off him.

"Don't give me that bullshit Grimmjow, I want answers."

"Well that makes two of us." He grit his teeth, his hand shaking as he continued to try to push the youth away.

"Big brother, stop it!"

His savior came in a suspiciously small package, managing to make the orange haired hooligan back off with one disappointed frown and a tug at the offending arm.

"Honestly, people come to a clinic to get better Ichigo, not worse."

"You should've left him in the middle of the street. He's not some sort of stray cat Yuzu. He's a stranger. You have no idea how dangerous he could be."

"Ichigo, stop bothering him. He needs rest." The young girl looked exasperated.

The young man grunted and moved over to the chair near the window. Sitting down heavily, he continued to glare at the man in the sick bed. Grimmjow tried to keep an eye on the young man even as Yuzu moved in between them. He soon found his gaze pulled towards his little nurse, watching her as she carefully checked his bandages.

"Well you seem much better than last week." Yuzu smiled at him broadly.

"Last week? How long have I been out?" Grimmjow wanted to yell but he didn't have enough energy for that.

"Two weeks. We weren't sure that you would wake up." Yuzu answered him with a tiny frown. "You looked just horrible when I found you. Cut up all over and burn marks too. I'm glad you're doing better though."

Grimmjow looked over at his arm, just now seeming to notice that he had an IV drip in his arm. It felt like his body was one large bruise and the slightest movement would send bursts of pain through him. He grit his teeth as Yuzu tended to him, doing his best to ignore the death glares from Ichigo. At least if he was layed up in the bed it would give him time to think. He had been there for two weeks so whatever put him in that condition was likely nearly fatal. He had one person waiting for him when he woke up who either knew him or was mistaking him for someone. Yuzu was helping to prop him up with the pillows and he could get a good look out the window. Rural area, the sound of cats outside, he could be nearly anywhere.

"The Kurosaki clinic." Yuzu spoke up helpfully.

Grimmjow blushed faintly. Had he been speaking out loud? God, he hoped he didn't have brain damage along with the rest of his problems. Putting a hand to his face, he groaned softly. His nails were a bit longer than was normal for a man and they seemed well kept. Did his little nurse just do that while he was unconscious because she was bored or was that normal for him?

"Has anyone come for me?" He asked in a quiet growl.

"No, but this is a small clinic, not everyone would think to check here for a person that's missing. Now that you're awake, we can call your family." Yuzu smiled cheerfully. Her smile slowly faltered when she saw the somber expression on the man's face. "What's wrong?"

"I can't remember my family." He admitted grudgingly. "Can you just get a doctor, maybe he'll know how to fix this... hole in my head."

"I'll go get my daddy."

There was a heavy silence as Yuzu got up and slowly made her way out, presumably to update her father on Grimmjow's progress. The blue eyed man looked out the window past Ichigo's scowling figure. He felt like there was a rock in his stomach, rolling around and making him feel like he was going to be ill. He wanted to chalk it all up to his accident making his body weak, but the feelings would only get worse when he thought about his situation and not his body.

"How do you know me?" Grimmjow let his gaze slide over to Ichigo. "Am I your senior or something?"

"Yuzu isn't here, you can cut it out."

"Cut what out?" Grimmjow felt his ire raising.

"This act. You're no innocent man, you live to fight and kill." Ichigo was practically baring his teeth.

The words rocked Grimmjow and he could only stare at Ichigo. The thought of a fight made his heart skip a beat, but the notion of killing automatically seized it up.

"That's not funny." Grimmjow trembled faintly, clutching the bedsheets as if it would stave off the sudden vertigo. "Don't joke about death, idiot."

The door slid open and the pair glanced up at the scruffy man that was making himself at home, a clipboard in hand. He had an unlit cigarette dangling from his lip and he casually slid it behind one ear, snatching a pen that had been resting there instead.

"Caught me about to go on a break. You've got some bad timing." The older man said teasingly. "Good healing though, so you're lucky there."

"Was it really that bad?" Grimmjow spoke quietly, looking down at his forearms. He could see some patches of skin that were paler than others, looking as thought they were old scars.

The other man's face was serious as he pulled up a chair. "You looked tortured. I told Yuzu that there was so much blood because of your head wound and that it looked worse than it was. But you had several broken bones, noticeably the ones of your ribcage. The skin of your wrists were rubbed nearly raw, like you had been hung up by your hands for an extended period of time."

Gingerly, Grimmjow pulled up the sleeves of his shirt to look at the upper parts of his arms. The skin seemed fine, but if what the man was describing was true then he should have looked a lot worse.

"I bet you're hungry."

"Starved." Grimmjow blurted out before he could help himself.

"I'll have to start you on something slow so you don't get sick on us. Is there anything you can tell me? Anything at all could be helpful."

Grimmjow rested his head in his hand, his temples pounding as he tried to think of some reasonable excuse for why he was in this state. Miserably, he shook his head, sliding his palm across his features to hide the grimace of pain.

"Alright, Ichigo, help him turn so I can check his ribs and breathing."

Grimmjow started to shift in the bed, not wanting the angry boy touching him if he could help it. Pain lanced through him as his upper body began to twist and the man covered his mouth to try to stave away the nausea. He could hear both men chiding him, Ichigo being much more vulgar than the doctor. Hands rested on his shoulders and hips and he had to bite his lip so he wouldn't scream at them to back away. The hands at his hips soon slipped away while the ones at his shoulders drifted down to the middle of his back. The doctor was careful and clinical in his examination and Grimmjow unexpectedly found himself relieved by this.

"Your ribs are still bruised, but your breathing is clear." The doctor noted with satisfaction. "I wish more of my patients were like you."

"If you had more patients like me, you'd probably be out of a job." Grimmjow snorted softly. "So how soon until I can get out of here?"

"At the rate you're healing?" The doctor raised an eyebrow, "Probably another week or so as long as you don't relapse. Then we can sign off on you and you can settle your bill."

Grimmjow's eyes widened a fraction and he peeked up slowly. "Uh, any chance that you found me with a wallet or something to identify me?"

The older man smiled and patted his shoulder, making the blue eyed man wince. "We'll figure something out, don't worry."

"Is he always that energetic?" Grimmjow questioned softly as he watched the older man exit.

"Are you always this full of shit?" Ichigo hissed in his ear, gripping Grimmjow's shoulder painfully.

"Fucking quit it, that hurts." Grimmjow hissed back, not daring to try turning for fear of being sick all over the bed.

"Like you ever let pain stop you from trying to kick my ass before?"

"I beat you up?"

"Don't play stupid, we pounded one another into the ground."

"Why?"

Ichigo paused and pulled back just a bit, confusion flitting through his eyes.

"Come on, what the hell put us in such a rile that we would be beating on one another -that- badly? Are you the one that put me in here?" Grimmjow snapped.

"No! I came home and found you here bleeding all over." Ichigo snarled back viciously.

"Well who else hates me that bad?"

"Knowing you? Everyone!"

The men went quiet as the door opened up again and Yuzu came back in with a curvy girl with hair the same shade as Ichigo's. Grimmjow's eyes widened a bit and he let his eyes drift from her sweet cheerful face to her bust and back again. He began to bare his teeth in a wicked smile and tried to lean forward casually, needing to stop because of the pain in his ribs.

"Is this my new nurse?" He lowered his voice, his tone growing husky as he inspected the new girl. "Am I allowed a sponge bath?"

Both girls looked shocked at the suggestion and Grimmjow felt a thrill run through him. His vision suddenly went white when Ichigo sucker punched him and he heard the two girls cry out in alarm. Laying still on the bed, Grimmjow turned his head to try to get a look at his attacker. Yuzu was yelling at him while the new nurse was lightly touching his head to check for bleeding. Grimmjow peered at the new girl, his sharp eyes watching how she moved and fretted. Her long hair was falling across her shoulders, the ends of it tickling his collarbone.

"Shit, do you always treat injured people like this?"

"You better not have given him a concussion big brother."

Grimmjow couldn't help but laugh, smiling crookedly as he let the new nurse help him rest back against the pillows. "Don't worry about me, I'm as tough as an ally cat."

"Still, that's no excuse to be so rough."

"Yuzu wait! No, you can't just leave him in there with Inoue!"

"Don't worry, the room is spinning too much for me to want to molest you." Grimmjow remarked dryly to the girl with the bleached out looking hair.

The girl frowned at him a little and he sighed, wondering what he'd done to make so many people mad at him. He could hear the faint click of the door shutting, but the sound of Ichigo's voice carried from down the hallway as Yuzu led him away from the sick room.

"Is it really true, what Yuzu said?" Orihime's voice was strong as she carefully watched her ward.

"How many damned times do I need to say it? I don't remember shit." The blue eyed man snarled, finding enough energy to raise his voice.

The tall man was tense as he turned his glare out the window. He watched a cat padding along the thick branch of a nearby tree and tried not to give in to the guilt when a soft hand came to rest on his. A warm palm was pressed to his forehead and he blinked in confusion.

"You're really hot blooded aren't you?" Orihime murmured.

"When you say it so casually it sounds like a compliment."

"Well..." Orihime began to smile and petted his hair like a sibling might. "I don't mind it. After all, Kurosaki can be the same way."

"That's the guy that hit me?" He asked quietly, looking over at her once more.

Her breath caught in her throat when their eyes met and she nodded slowly, as if she was suddenly more aware of him. It put him in mind of a deer watching a wolf. He didn't think of himself as being particularly frightening, but the way people reacted around him was starting to make him wonder about his appearance. He supposed the best he could do for the moment would be to relax and smile and try to reassure the woman that he didn't bite.

"Is it true what he was saying? Am I some sort of bully?"

"Maybe I'm not the best person to answer that..." The curvy girl looked away, fidgeting with the cuffs of her shirt.

"What's your name?" Grimmjow smiled at her warmly, "At least help me out there."

"Inoue Orihime." She stammered a bit, her rosy cheeks darkening.

"Orihime." He spoke softly, his eyes falling half lidded. "That really suits you I think."

Her cheeks started to darken and he wondered for a moment just what he had said to fluster her. She had pulled her hands back from him and was playing with the fabric of her long skirt. The two of them blinked in surprise when they heard a quiet mew and looked up to see that the cat from the tree had made its way to the window. Grimmjow raised a hand lethargically and smiled when the cat trotted inside like it was supposed to be there. He watched as the small animal casually made a tour of the room. Before too long it made its way to the bed and jumped up, turning its tail up at Orihime while rubbing its cheek to Grimmjow's chest.

"Well at least I have one friend." He laughed softly.

"You want us to be your friend?"

"Maybe its asking for a bit too much since Kurosaki is so violently opposed to me."

Grimmjow hissed quietly as the cat climbed up him and draped itself along one shoulder. Orihime looked as though she was going to take it away and he waved away her hand as she reached out to him. The low purr from the strange cat was rumbling against his shoulder and neck. It was a comfortable warmth and he wished that he was under a tree or at least outside to soak up the sun.

"Are you going to fall asleep before you eat?"

"Food?" He peeked one blue eye open, his stomach grumbling in approval.

"Just something soft for now." Orihime smiled broadly and bent down to pluck up the container she'd carried in with her.

Looking at the container, his eyes widened and he watched her pour it from the bright pink thermos into a cup for him. Was she expecting him to eat all of it? He hoped that the answer was yes, because it smelled delicious. He had to squash the bit of disappointment when she began to pour a second cup for herself and set it aside.

"What is it?" His mouth watered as he took the cup from her an d looked into it curiously.

"Curried tilapia soup with leeks!" She answered energetically.

He blinked down at the cup and raised it to his lips, ignoring the spoon that she was offering him. The cat on his shoulder could smell the fish in it and leaned over, trying to lap at the cup that he was drinking from. He could hear Orihime trying to protest and there was a loud thump as the door was opened again. Lowering his emptied cup, Grimmjow blinked at Ichigo's re-entrance and then past him to his father.

"I'm sorry that I hit you." Ichigo growled.

"Sorry you hit me while your sister was around." The tall man corrected him. "Look, I get that you hate me. And for all I know, you've got a damn good reason to. But for the time being, could we try to get along?"

There was a few moments of silence in the room and Ichigo looked at the floor, chastised. Then it broke when Orihime spoke up in her soft airy toe.

"Wow, you can be pretty reasonable."

"Could you please not say that like it's a surprise?" Grimmjow scowled at her.

"Sorry." She said, continuing to smile as she took back his cup and refilled it. "I'm just used to you being..."

"An asshole?" Grimmjow supplied for her in a deadpan voice.

"I wasn't going to use that word." Orihime passed him back his cup, watching as he downed it almost as quick as the first. "You really like my cooking huh?"

"You made this?" Grimmjow smiled broadly at her. "It's great. Could use a little more curry though."

"Well, I didn't want to overpower it since you just woke up again. I'd hate to make you sick."

"No way, if this is a sample of your cooking I'd say you're way too good to make me sick."

"I think -I'm- going to be sick." Ichigo muttered.

"You should try some." Grimmjow suggested, seeing the tiny pout on Orihime's face. "You'll see what I mean, it's good. Unless you can't handle it."

Ichigo's eyes widened and his fist trembled, probably repressing the urge to lash out at the invalid. They may not have been physically fighting but Grimmjow still had that smug look on his face. Storming over to the open seat beside the bed, Ichigo sat down and extended his hand palm up to Orihime. There was a stern look on his face that dared anyone to question him. Grimmjow simply smiled silently, finishing off nearly all of his soup. Under Orihime's curious eye, he scooped out a bit of fish that was left at the bottom and fed it to his new feline companion. The cat like man kept his eyes locked with Ichigo's, the two of them barely paying attention as Orihime poured a small cup for Ichigo. Grimmjow saw that Ichigo was using a spoon and frowned when the young man sneered at him, a hearty spoonful of leeks held up.

"Some of us actually have table manners." The teen goaded him.

"There's nothing wrong with how I eat. I just have a big appetite."

"Nothing wrong if you grew up on a farm." Ichigo sniffed, quickly eating some of the soup.

"Shut the he- urgh!" Grimmjow clutched his chest, a stab of pain slicing across his pectorals.

The cat on his shoulder jumped down and started licking the cup that he dropped. He could hear Orihime saying something but he couldn't' really make it out. Strong hands caught him by the biceps and he could feel the heat of another body close to his own. Ichigo's voice, much softer than usual, speaking his name in a questioning tone. Concern that wasn't his own washing through him, along with an undertone of anger and distrust. When the pain stopped, Grimmjow panted, his head resting against a firm shoulder. He could smell something musky mixed with spices as well as a stronger spice and disinfectant. He let Ichigo press him back against the pillow and simply stared at the boy. His father was opening up his shirt and listening to his heart.

"It's faster, but nothing that sounds bad." The older man spoke quietly.

"He's not faking it, is he?" Ichigo murmured softly.

"No, he's not faking any of it."

Grimmjow wanted to growl at them both. Instead he lightly rubbed a hand across the bedsheets to grab the cat's attention. Once it was up on his lap again, he rested a hand on it's furry back and tried to ignore the look of concern Ichigo was giving him.

"This is ridiculous, I shouldn't feel this sluggish, not when I'm finally awake." Grimmjow frowned.

"Your body is still recovering. Your mind as well, and it looks as though the strain on your mind is making a sympathetic response in the rest of you." Ichigo's father explained.

"No offence Doc, but that sucks." Grimmjow did his best to smile and soften the words.

"Well if you don't like it, all you have to do is get better."

"Yeah, I'll do that." Grimmjow glanced at Orihime who was washing out his cup in the hand sink and refilling it. "You've got some amazing nurses though, I can't complain about that."

Orihime looked over at him in surprise, nearly spilling the soup. Smiling at him shyly, she made her way back over and offered him the cup again. He took it and simply let it rest on his thigh as he took a few deep breaths. He couldn't help but think that despite the arguments with Ichigo, this was a good place to wake up to.

"Well, if you like the nurses here," Ichigo's father started slowly, "maybe that can be how you work out your bill. We can always use a little bit of help around here. Karin and Yuzu could teach you everything you need to know about basic care and if you're here for a while Orihime probably wouldn't mind teaching you further."

"As long as Ichigo doesn't mind me being around."

"As long as you don't try anything funny." Ichigo narrowed his eyes slightly. "But, you seem alright. I guess."

"Thanks." Grimmjow felt his heart squeeze with a tentative hope. "I won't disappoint you."

He took a small sip of soup to distract himself from the way Ichigo was looking at him. The hot blooded teen was quiet as he watched Grimmjow, searching for a piece of the man that he once knew. It looked as thought the bloodthirsty side of him was gone, stripped away by whatever had put him here in the first place. With his memory gone, Grimmjow wouldn't be able to answer the earliest question that came to Ichigo. Just how had the arrancar gotten his hands on a gigai?


End file.
